RE:treat – New Doors for Old Ideas

by Andreanna 'Andy' Mond

Personal items symbolizing participant transitions during the Opening Circle.

On Saturday, June 16th, 2018 we gathered at the Wilder Center for what we hope to be the first of many retreats hosted by Minnesota Rising. The intent of the retreat was something that we’ve all heard before: taking intentional time out to rest and gather ourselves in a way that fueled rejuvenation. It was a cozy group, and to me that encouraged more authentic sharing in a way that allowed us all to leave lighter. We gave away past pain, anger, and confusion to the circle in the morning as we began which created a connection that allowed us the freedom to not feel judgement or condemnation as we shared. As my retreat partners shared, I listened and turned inward—looking at the transitions that had happened in my life, were currently happening, and that I wanted to encourage for the future so that I could aptly apply the wisdom that my retreat partners shared.

As the day went on, we split into groups to allow for more intentional conversation and that is when we were able to get to the crux of what we (as a small group) most needed to have revealed to us: (1) perfection is not the goal and (2) the metaphor of the tree. We tell ourselves all the time that to err is to be human, but as we talked amongst ourselves we realized that we were holding onto the idea that the relationships and career paths that we pursued and how we behaved had to fit into the mold made for us by society (specifically the patriarchy) and that to fall short was the worst thing that we could do. We realized that we (as a group of four women) were looking to be poised and immaculate when we should be free to behave in whatever way makes us happy and that that will be perfect. Any other definition would not help us live life. It was powerful to experience this rekindling of the notion that we’re not perfect beings and we don’t need forgiveness as much as we need to accept what happened as a way of healing and moving forward with our mental and emotional states intact.

The second revelation was the tree metaphor. I’ve been hearing this metaphor since I was younger and it was a good illustration of the difference that can be found among groups of people as no one else was familiar with it. The metaphor places you in the center, as the aforementioned tree, and gives a sense of weight and time to the things connected to you. The tree is you; you are the solid trunk upon which relationships with others will be built. You have a root system that is symbolic of the connections in your life that feed your spirit and are very permanent, like family and really close friends. Next are the branches which represent strong relationships that have the potential to break off and require you to feed them – romantic relationships and new friendships can be found here. Lastly for this metaphor, you have the leaves. Leaves are the hardest part of this metaphor because they speak directly to the impermanence of life and the relationships formed. Leaves are individuals (or groups) that are only there for a season; a strong wind could send them fluttering away.

This metaphor was something that resonated with all members of my small group during our conversation and with the group as a whole during the closing circle. One of the facilitators asked how we could tell which someone was: a leaf, branch, or root and I was stumped. I had never thought about that aspect of it before, and it occurred to me that we sometimes give out information and expect that those hearing it will automatically know how to apply it to their situation. This was also a great example of something that happened frequently throughout the event: the questions of others opening up new doors to old ideas.  We decided that one way to know is to be in tune with your body and the signs that it shows you. Many times, we can see in hindsight that something was a bad idea, but we ignore the warnings and sometimes can’t hear ourselves think for the voices of others in our ears.

This is why an event like RE:treat is so necessary. A few days out from the event and the feelings of peace and connectedness that I felt to everyone who participated are still present, but more importantly I am more connected to myself and aware of the situations moving forward that will not contribute to my happiness. However, some situations cannot be avoided and RE:treat has reintroduced me to tools that will allow me to not be overwhelmed or lose touch with my intuition when I am juggling multiple things. That small step of signing up for an event that was purely about my well-being in a time of transition was the most amazing and loving gift that I have given myself in a while and I am better for it.

[Blog Buddies] Living into the answers

It was time this month for my annual YNPN Twin Cities blog post and I had questions. And . . . some answers. See below for an update on what Minnesota Rising has been inquiring into and how we've been responding over the past couple of years.

Living into the answers

By Diane Tran

“Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.” – Rilke

At Minnesota Rising, our mission is to build trust, relationships, and a shared vision for the future of Minnesota, while developing the collective capacity of the rising generation to lead collaboratively. Just how we do this has evolved over time, as we continue to inquire into and assess our strategic intent and impact. For those nonprofiteers who also value emergent learning and developmental evaluation, we offer a couple of our questions and answers.

Q1: What are we willing to let go?

The Minnesota Rising Un/Conference was our network’s first signature event, bringing together 100-150 emerging leaders each year. The daylong events featured optional AM connecting and creativity sessions, keynote speakers, breakout sessions, Open Space sessions, Show and Tell sessions, and a happy hour. Through these annual gatherings between 2010 – 2014, we built the leadership capacity of volunteer event planners, provided emerging leaders opportunities to showcase their talent and knowledge earlier than they might be invited to do so in their professional careers, and built community among our state’s emerging leaders as well as young professional groups. The most commonly cited outcomes for attendees were the ability to connect with other leaders via an energizing event as well as to gain and generate new ideas for specific projects they were advancing.

As we considered our strategy moving forward after hosting five successful Un/Conferences, we lamented the potential loss of a key event that our community had come to know and rely on and the opportunity to collaborate with a wide array of local emerging leader groups and organizations. On the flip side, planning and hosting an annual Un/Conference took a great deal of resources and we knew we could afford to let go of the five months of extensive planning required annually. So we chose to take a hiatus from the annual Un/Conference and began to explore opportunities to more directly help emerging leaders connect and collaborate in ways that could more efficiently leverage our volunteer time and organizational resources.

The IDEA GENERATION was our effort to test a more focused format that innovated on how to help emerging leaders move even further and faster in their efforts to impact Minnesota’s future. A Pro-Action Café allowing attendees to share and workshop their ideas with one another in real-time, the two events we hosted in 2015 were highly regarded and resulted in several ideas proffered gaining additional traction and/or coming to life following the events.

A1: Rather than continue to host an event, no matter how great an event, in perpetuity, we wanted to be thoughtful about what other formats or methods might help us best achieve our goals. Further, we anticipated that this move might demonstrate to the rising generation the importance of letting go and the ability to become increasingly comfortable with impermanence. Rather than end up ourselves as long-time leaders who struggle to let go of power or to make space for others, we wanted to begin to gain a comfort and confidence in letting go of things early and often as individuals and as a generation.

Q2: How do we live into what’s next?

Our approach at Minnesota Rising is meant to create a tent large enough that anyone who connects themselves to this geography or generation (i.e. Minnesotan or Millennial) can come together beneath it. While this broad lens would seem to inherently encompass “all,” since most Millennials eschew labels and not everyone living in Minnesota feels welcome here, considers it is their primary or most visible identity, or would characterize this native land as the #BoldNorth, we miss those not in the mainstream. Indeed, the words “we” and “us” are not always as inclusive as they aspire to be.

In fact, in order for us to center those at the margins of this conversation, we have had to narrow in on who with and how to have new conversations. The two ways we responded:

Greater Minnesota Rising

An initiative of Minnesota Rising, Greater Minnesota Rising was a research and community engagement project in North Central and West Central Minnesota. From April 2015 – February 2016, the project team sought to outline the region's assets and challenges related to workforce needs and community vitality and develop recommendations for engaging local emerging leaders and community organizations in northwestern Minnesota. We conducted an environmental scan, focus groups, and a World Café in effort to engage the insights of emerging leaders in developing recommendations to ensure their local communities could offer the lifestyles, relationships, and opportunities to support them, their families, and their futures.

LOCUS

An initiative of Minnesota Rising founded in 2013, LOCUS works to provide space, connection, and opportunities for authentic community building, identity-driven leadership, and resource sharing – by and for people of color and indigenous peoples. LOCUS aims to host meeting grounds for authentic community building and we host regular dialogues, events, and Family Dinners. We embrace and support each other through the pursuit of stronger connection and inclusiveness. Through these practices, we strive to cultivate a pool of identity-driven leaders, ready to lead in our local communities.

A2: By spending time in communities where our network has not been as deeply engaged, building relationships and having the conversations they’re interested in, we develop a more expansive understanding of the stories and opportunities in our state. With this context, we can support emerging leaders to connect with one another, identify what they want to build in their own communities, and move to action on co-creating those assets and relationships that help us shape a stronger Minnesota inclusive of voices that are not always interested in or that do not feel invited to participate in the mainstream conversation.

What questions have been sitting with you or your organization lately? And how have you found yourself living into them?

[Blog Buddies] Noticing now: Musings on mindfulness

It's a pleasure to be back on the YNPN Twin Cities blog with my latest guest post: "Noticing now: Musings on mindfulness." I invite you to take a deep breath, and read on!

By Diane Tran

I firmly believe we are new in every moment. We have never lived this long in these bodies, with these lives, on this earth, with the myriad and cumulative experiences we have had prior to this second. Or this one. Or the next.

What a thing to behold. And yet, in our fast-paced, externally-focused culture, it is something we are rarely trained or encouraged to regularly behold. Especially for young nonprofiteers, pouring so much of not only our heads but also our hearts into our work, it is essential to find ways to pause, reflect, and nurture our individual human capacity and the resulting resources we seek to share with our communities.  

So if we are to act based on identity-driven leadership and in accordance with our mind, body, and spirit, how might we invest in and cultivate these instincts and wisdom? The answer to our modern-day challenge, fortunately, is timeless and old as the ages: to practice.

Practices for Being Present

Following are four small ways to begin practicing mindfulness in daily nonprofit work and life:

1. Practice noticing this present moment.

Whereas a pop-culture picture of what it means to meditate is sitting on top of a faraway mountain, cross-legged, chanting “Om,” mindfulness urges us to simply slow down right where we are and to pay attention to what is. Noticing, without judgment, what sensations or discomforts our bodies may be experiencing, what sounds or noises may be in the near or distant space surrounding us, or what thoughts may be running through our minds. Becoming aware, while not becoming attached, offers us choices. In so doing, we have greater capacity to identify shifts within ourselves as we sustain our practice over time and more options based on that increasing awareness.

2. Practice connecting with your body.

Meditation can seem intimidating when presented as being entirely devoid of thoughts, but this practice of keener observation merely frees up some space to focus on things other than our thoughts. We can pay attention to our bodies and recognize where we have tightness, the temperature of our skin, or any activation in our limbs. This cues us to be aware of where past pain or trauma presently reside and how to give attention to that which becomes stored in the body so that we can identify, work with, and release it. If we can grow more attuned to and less judgmental of our physical bodies, we can more capably leverage the resources of breath, muscle memory, ever-at-work organs, and central nervous systems to support and work in accord with our minds and spirits. While a problem-solving and entrepreneurial brain is undoubtedly important for managing the rigors of nonprofit work, being guided by the instincts and intuition held in the body’s lived experience can be just as effective, and should thus be equally glorified, in developing innovative approaches and taking right action.

3. Practice enjoying simple pleasures.

When asked to do nothing, anxious feelings can arise. Rather than focusing on an attempt to not do anything well, mindfulness asks only that you notice what you are doing. And fully engaging with the simple things you enjoy – savoring the flavor of the first bites of your favorite food, gazing at a particularly interesting piece of art or architecture, taking pride in crafting a witty tweet to promote your organization’s event, or reveling in that first sip of hot coffee in the morning – helps to slow yourself down to truly appreciate and luxuriate in that moment. The more we mindfully absorb and appreciate, the more expansively and meaningfully we can experience life’s simple joys.

4. Practice slowing your pace.

Posted speeds on the roads as well as the flow of your work and life are often faster than human scale. Even if you are capable of moving fast and keeping up, how slow might you go at any given moment if you could? I recently had the chance to take part in a daylong meditation retreat at Common Ground Meditation Center and it felt as though we participants had come to conspire together in slowing down. Given the expectation and encouragement to be mindful, we ate and walked at a calmer speed, slowing our rhythms and interactions to a more natural pace. It was powerful to be with a group validating this way of being for both the individuals participating and the community created that day.

These practices need practice and one resource is Headspace, an app which offers a free and nifty “Take 10” program to help begin and grow your meditation practice.

So go ahead and practice. Right now. Take two deep breaths. Really.

What do you notice?

Recognizing that the present moment is the only one that matters, but that it has been informed by the ones past and will then inform the ones to come, it is invaluable to make the time and space now to catch up with ourselves.

[Blog Buddies] Minnesota Humanities Center: "Social media imitates life"

After partnering with the Minnesota Humanities Center to publish my children's book, Linh and the Red Envelope, I'm excited to have recently joined their board of directors. I was invited to reflect on the question: "How can the humanities help illuminate the mixed blessing of social media that permeates the lives of most Minnesotans?" See below and MHC blog for my response: "Social media imitates life."

Diane Tran is a Senior Project Manager at Grassroots Solutions, a national consulting firm specializing in grassroots strategy, organizing, training, and evaluation. Diane serves on the boards of the Minnesota Humanities Center and Minnesota Philanthropy Partners, and is Immediate Past Chair of the board of directors for the Citizens League. She earned a self-designed bachelor’s degree in International Social Policy with a double major in Humanities at The College of Saint Scholastica in Duluth, MN. Diane is the author of the children's book, Linh and the Red Envelope, and the founder of Minnesota Rising, a statewide network of emerging leaders.

Social media is in the eye of the beholder.

The Good. For my part, social media has provided a plethora of benefits, including: offering a ready way to keep in touch with friends and apprised of happenings in their lives, facilitating my cousin’s purchase of a used snowboard to carve the slopes in Minnesota wintertime, and making it possible for my husband to recruit micro-investors when he published his National Book Award-winning essays. Social media serves as a handy resource for real-time news and activism as well as to make family members living far away feel just a bit closer. Best yet, having access to the insights and journeys of others who have walked similar paths to mine has helped me to feel a sense of #community when I’ve at times felt like the only one in my shoes.

The Bad. Conversely, while our society is still only just beginning to understand the implications of integrating technology and social media into every aspect of our daily lives, it’s not without growing pains. Social media results in anonymous hatefulness in the comments section, unchecked prejudice and oppression swiftly escalating into blame and judgment, and haphazardly introduces items into your newsfeed that you unfortunately can never un-see or un-know. Moreover, the avalanche of items from myriad inboxes and channels and mediums overwhelms the senses. On more than one occasion, I have turned away from my device and wondered how many unarticulated emotions and unexpressed thoughts I’d had in response to the 50 or so items I’d quickly skimmed past in the last 5 minutes. The heightened level of distraction and externalization can cause one, if only momentarily, to lose oneself.

The Humanity. Social media imitates life. In many ways, the power dynamics and structures that govern our offline cultures resemble the world we create online. The grammar and spelling police pat themselves on the back for their “professionalism” in crafting perceived ‘winning’ comments in online disputes. Businesses and organizations with means are able to invest more in social media campaigns and staff than those who are under-resourced, further perpetuating the disparity between the “haves” and “have-nots” in a world where you don’t exist if you’re not on the internet.

As such, social media is a helpful case study for understanding who is seen, who is represented, and how. While it has further democratized who has a mouthpiece or can exert influence, social media still mimics the mainstream media in the unquestioned and stereotypical narratives that can underlie the creators and consumers of content. For this reason, it is important to continually inquire into the biases and assumptions we all carry around with us, particularly as we consider that we’re contributing to a large and lasting digital footprint.

For all that has been made of social media, what is clear is that it is precisely what we make of it. We--experiencing the human condition--use it to do what it is that we do. That is, to tell stories, present our ideas, connect with one another, share our victories, lament our challenges, and express who we are. May we continue to use our evolving technological tools and social media to ensure equal voice, to value each other’s stories and experiences, and, to help all of us feel connected to, and part of, a larger community. 

[Blog Buddies] Reading Rutabaga Review: "Linh and the Red Envelope" by Diane Tran

An avid reader based in southern Minnesota, my friend Lisa refers to herself as the "Reading Rutabaga." She recently reviewed my book, Linh and the Red Envelope, which I'll have the opportunity to read at the Minnesota History Center on April 25 for Asian Pacific Heritage Family Day. Visit her blog for the official book review and see below for the author interview!

"Linh and the Red Envelope" by Diane Tran

I am thrilled to share this post with you about Linh and the Red Envelope. The author, Diane Tran, is someone whom I’ve been able to call friend for over a decade. She’s a world traveler, leader, project manager, German Marshall Fund of the United Sates American Fellow, and overall inspiring friend, role model and individual. I’m so proud of her newest title: author!

Linh and the Red Envelope (September 2013) by Diane Tran. Alex Patrick Shimkus, illustrator.

 *   *   *

Diane, thank you for taking the time to answer some questions! You have an impressive resumé. What is it like to add “author” to your list?

Thanks for the invitation to join you on the Reading Rutabaga, Lisa! I've really enjoyed your insights here on different pieces of writing and literature, and consider it an honor to be featured on your blog.

As an experiential learner, one of my favorite things to do is to try things for the first time. While I have blogged for several years, it has been a long-held dream of mine to write a children's book, so it was an incredibly gratifying endeavor. I'm especially excited because it's the kind of story—a young female Asian protagonist relating to challenges that are at once universal and distinct to her culture—that I never knew existed when I was young. I often wonder whether and how things might have been different or easier for me if I'd had access to these kinds of narratives when I was younger. And so I'm hopeful that this book being out in the world now can make a positive difference for young children today.

You wrote your story for the Reading Together Project for a specific purpose: “to address the lack of children’s books that speak to the experience of being an Asian Pacific Islander (API) child or youth in the United States.” Especially for APIs, what kind of impact do you think reading of API title characters will have on them? Do you think it might have a creative or proud cultural impact?

I'm hopeful that through getting to know Linh, her mom, and her grandmother, API children will be able to see their own realities and experiences reflected back to them as normal and significant. For API and other marginalized communities, the result of not seeing others like you—your race, class, ability, immigration status, faith, etc.—in literature, the media, or popular culture has the effect of making you feel invisible. Unnoticed, unimportant. (Paradoxically, it can also create the feeling of being overly exposed and in the spotlight in an undesired way: When as the only different person in the room, you're looked at as the "other" or presumed to be speaking for your entire ethnicity, gender, etc.) And if there are characters that look like you, they often times serve to portray stereotypes that are limiting and/or harmful. This effectively reduces diverse populations to a single characteristic or function, devoid of any further humanity. This under-representation and mis-representation mirrors the way in which the dominant culture relates to or experiences minority groups. And so, by creating our own narratives and sharing our lived experiences, we can begin to see our realities as valid and meaningful and in the process, and humanize ourselves and each other.

Can you tell us about the Reading Together Project?

Funded by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and created as a partnership between the Minnesota Humanities Center and the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans (CAPM), the Reading Together Project focuses on amplifying missing narratives from the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, supports the development of English literacy skills while recognizing cultural heritage, and creates opportunities for children and families to learn about API cultural heritage together. Seeking to address the lack of children’s books that speak to the experience of being an Asian Pacific Islander (API) child or youth in the United States, the project has published six children's books in recent years. In 2012, the project produced two chapter books written for a third grade reading level, and in 2013, four picture books written for a 1st - 3rd grade reading level were published. My book was published in the most recent round, which selected four writers and four illustrators through a competitive process and allowed us to pair up and work collaboratively to develop the books. A copy-editor helped provide clarity to and tighten up my original writing submission, my book's illustrator, Alex Shimkus, brought the story to life with vivid imagery and visual detail, and the project's layout editor and publisher fashioned it into a 32-page paperback book. The whole process took nine months from submission and selection to the book launch event in October, and was exciting, challenging, and a lot of fun!

Can you tell us more about the tradition of giving red envelopes?

In Chinese and some other Asian cultures, red envelopes are given during holidays, such as the Lunar New Year, or to celebrate special occasions, including weddings, graduations, and the birth of a baby. Red envelopes usually contain money, though you may occasionally find candy or a proverb enclosed. Traditionally, red envelopes are given by married couples to the unmarried, who are typically younger and/or children. The red color signifies good luck and so my mom always tells me, the money you find inside is lucky!

Red envelopes

Where did you draw the inspiration for your story?

In many ways, this story is autobiographical. As a young girl growing up as the first generation born in the United States to refugee parents, I struggled to know how to be a "good daughter." In terms of my family and Asian culture, I understood this to mean that I should respect my elders, help to clean the house, and care for my siblings. As I navigated my school and community surroundings, though, I found that there were other measures of success, including academic ambition, student leadership, and civic engagement. While it was clear to me that these were all important values and roles, in some ways it felt like they were in conflict with one another. Pursuing too much of one or the other might diminish my chances for public or professional success or alternatively, move me further away from the heritage and traditions that felt core to my identity.

I attempted (with varying results) to balance the two, and over the years, I began to see opportunities to apply my love for organizing and community building to advocating for my family members and building a stronger sense of cohesion within my family of origin as well as extended family. I supported my dad on his journey to earning his citizenship and I leveraged my perspective as a member of several marginalized communities to deepen policy discussions that impacted those communities. What I came to see over time was that there was not one "right" or "good"' way to care for those in my life, but that my search to discover where my duties, strengths, and passions aligned was part of my path to being fully myself - as a loving daughter and sister as well as an engaged community leader. 

Your main character, Linh, struggles to know that goodness doesn’t come from doing things perfectly, but having a willing spirit and wanting to do the right thing. How important is it to you to get that message across to all children? That it isn’t about being perfect at new things, but of wanting to do each thing and be willing to work at it?

My book's dedication reads: "For every kid trying to do the right thing. Know that you already are the right thing." While I think it is critical for children to know and believe this, part of me wonders if it's really the kids that we need to tell this to, or instead the adults. Children are full of boundless energy and observations and curiosity. As adults, we have the responsibility of rearing our children, nieces and nephews, and students so that they respect themselves and each other, and can contribute positively to this world. But in so doing, we may inadvertently relay to children that we are the ones who know best for them and that they need to behave or be a certain way in order to be acceptable. This poses a challenge to children just as they are beginning to learn the important life skills of trusting themselves and accepting themselves for who they are. So, I think I'd offer messages to both children and their parents: Children, you don't have to earn your role as someone's child, you already are. Parents, guide your children lovingly, knowing that viewing your child as the gift that they are allows them to fully trust and believe it.

Where can readers purchase your book?

The book is available for purchase on Lulu.com. A free PDF copy of the book is available online, along with an Educator Guide, in the Minnesota Humanities Center Absent Narratives Resource Collection.

[Blog Buddies] Hello to Good-bye (A Treatise on Transitions)

Thanks to YNPN Twin Cities for the opportunity to ruminate on marking time and making room in a recent blog post. Check out "Hello to Good-bye (A Treatise on Transitions)" below and in the words of that new Disney hymnal, "Let it go!"

Hello to Good-bye (A Treatise on Transitions)

Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 8:00PM

By Diane Tran

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” ― Lao Tzu

Emergence as evolution

As the founder of Minnesota Rising, a generationally-based group, I’m often asked about the point at which our Millennial generation will no longer be referred to as, “emerging,” but could be considered “emerged.” While there will be a point in time at which, as individuals and as a cohort, we could be said to have moved on from the “emerging leader” moniker, that is not to refute that our journey and learning is lifelong and thus we will always be emerging into the next experience. For this reason, it will be increasingly valuable to have a sustaining generational cohort to help us mark, grieve, and celebrate transitions, and with whom we will be able to note our progress as individuals and as a group.

The start of a new year provides a timely opportunity to re-evaluate and intentionally choose which roles and practices we bring into the new year. That which we leave behind in 2014 is just as important as what we decide to bring along and to life in 2015. In fact, the practice of letting go is an essential part of our ability to make space for and embrace the other things we aspire to moving forward. The ability to relinquish long-held assumptions, practices, and roles helps us to keep an open mind about and to make use of that which arises. More importantly, it keeps us from holding too tightly to specific positions, ways things are done, or limited interpretations of what “should” be as we navigate and shape the emerging future.

Organizing as origin

When I was a child, my family lived in a cul-de-sac in which I loved to organize neighborhood baseball games, hide-and-go-seek-tag, and a faux radio station. My parents told me that whenever we left a McDonald's playplace, they'd always have to wait for me to say good-bye to a new friend I'd made before we could go. From an early age, it was apparent that I was an organizer and that meaningful relationships were very important to me.

I was first elected to the Student Council in 6th grade and subsequently found other opportunities throughout my adolescent years to serve as a youth organizer and spokesperson for Target Market, Healthy Communities Healthy Youth National Panel, National Youth Leadership Council, Youth Leadership Institute, Student Campaign for Child Survival, Youth Teaching Youth, and Leaders of Today and Tomorrow, among other youth-led groups. Becoming deeply involved with numerous peer-to-peer youth leadership organizations, I began to identify strongly with the role of youth activist and leader. I discovered a profound sense of purpose in making sure that the voices and perspectives of youth were heard and represented in conversations about policy, community health, and equity. As a young leader, speaking out and taking action allowed me to be the change I wished to see in the world.

As the years progressed, however, this time-bound aspect of my identity was annually challenged as I aged. When I hit age 18 and became a legal adult. When I turned 20 and was no longer a teenager. When I turned 21 and was able to purchase alcohol legally in the United States (never mind that I was living in Namibia at the time). When I turned 23, 25, and 28, respectively, and aged out of eligibility for key youth leadership opportunities. And finally, when I turned 30 this past year and was no longer a “twenty-something.” As I so identified as a youth activist and leader, each subsequent age meant I was being made to move away from and have less direct access to something I cared about deeply. Since I could not play those roles myself any longer, it felt as though I was losing connection with the work that had energized me for so many years and the roles that had initially helped shape my sense of purpose.

As I reflected on entering a new decade, however, it struck me that even if I, myself, was starting to age out of the youth category, that didn’t mean that the work I had been doing to provide young people at-large the opportunities to engage, lead, and share their voices needed to end. Instead, I could find new ways to support young people (as many of the adults who supported and mentored me had done) as an adult. Rather than having to stop engaging on a topic I hold dear, I now merely have a different point of entry from which to continue supporting youth leaders. What I value is ensuring that young people are invited and equipped to live and lead in this world, and I can do that regardless of my age.  

Sustaining values, revolving roles

As Minnesota Rising works to help our generation become “built to adapt,” we must focus first on identifying our core values and a shared vision. Having a foundational understanding and common agreement provides us a unifying agenda, for which our individual expressions of and contributions to can vary over time as we each grow and develop. In this way, we can more readily release our holds on specific roles or responsibilities, recognizing that through partnering in this larger effort, we each have the freedom and opportunity to evolve our specific involvement. We can shed our practices and assumptions more easily as we transition into the next thing, and those who come after us can have opportunities to take those seats or to create entirely new seating arrangements more relevant to their needs and desires.

We can begin practicing this key competency of letting go by recognizing what Minnesota Rising means for our generation—a space where we can ask, “Why wait?” and work collectively—while simultaneously letting go of whether it needs to mean anything to subsequent generations. Forsaking the idea, early and often, that the things we create or that matter to us must live on in perpetuity, we can become increasingly comfortable with the impermanence of institutions and instead invest in the endurance of our shared values over time.

Those born between the early 1980s to the early 2000s in the United States will always be Millennials. How we express that in the roles we take on as well as the roles that we let go of will allow us to gracefully transition, share power, and look forward to the future as another opportunity to learn. As a new year dawns, what roles and practices might you let go of? In what new ways might you express and live out your core values? And how could letting go of who you are help you to become who you might be?

Image Credit

[Blog Buddies] You're Invited | Ruination: City of Dust

Minnesota Rising is pleased to feature posts and projects of entrepreneurial emerging leaders on occasion. The following invitation comes from Ady Olson, past Network Partner liaison for the Minnesota Rising Un/Conference, related to her current efforts with Northern Lights.mn on a project called Ruination: City of Dust. Read on for more details and to join in this weekend to solve the mystery!

Dear friends,

For the past while, I've been working on a project with Northern Lights.mn called Ruination: City of Dust, a landscape-based mystery game played on bicycles, which will take place next weekend, October 18 and 19 at Lake Nokomis and along Minnehaha Creek.

The game takes place in 2314 (yes, I've been working on this for 300 years. It's really good.), after Minneapolis has fallen into ruin, and players are explorers searching through archaeological digs to solve the mystery of which of 6 Deadly Problems caused the final ruination.

There will be: Mystery and intrigue! Maps! Canoes! Edibles! Secret things! Bikes! Dungballs?

I'm really excited about this project. It's going to be great fun, and I'm quite sad that I won't get a chance to play the game myself.

So, you will have to play in my stead.

You sign up to play the game in teams of 1-6 people and it will take about 2-3 hours to play, with an estimated biking distance of about 5 miles. You can register at ruination.mn.

Come play! I could use your help spreading the word, too:

1. Share the Ruination website (ruination.mn) and encourage people to register to play!
2. Share our Facebook event with your friends.
3. Spread the word about our volunteer opportunities. We need volunteers to make this game happen, and we have many volunteer roles and shifts available: http://northern.lights.mn/projects/ruination-city-of-dust/#get-involved. Anyone who volunteers gets their registration fee waived to play the game outside of their volunteer shift.

I hope we'll run into each other in the ruined city on October 18 or 19, 2314.

IT IS THE YEAR 2314. The city of Minneapolis is abandoned and covered in dust. Teams of explorers brave the harsh conditions to dig the ruins, searching for answers.

WHICH DEADLY PROBLEM RUINED THE CITY? This is the mystery you must solve.

A MYSTERY GAME ON BICYCLES

 

Ruination will take 2-3 hours to complete, with a total estimated biking distance of about 5 miles. Choose your preferred date and start time when you register.

October 18 & 19

Lake Nokomis and along Minnehaha Creek

$15 per team of up to 6

Bring your bicycle (helmet too), a charged cell phone

and your curiosity.

Teams must register in advance to guarantee a spot.

[Blog Buddies] How to Join a Board Without Really Trying by Brandon Boat

Brandon Boat, one of the hilarious and insightful co-founders of The Theater of Public Policy, displays his humor and knowledge in a recent How to Join a Board Without Really Trying post on the YNPN Twin Cities blog. I was glad to contribute one piece of advice on behalf of the Citizens League, and as a dutiful Board Chair, will also take this opportunity to invite you to our upcoming 2014 Civic Celebration and Annual Meeting. Join us!

How to Join a Board Without Really Trying

Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 11:00PM

 

By Brandon BoatFollow me on Twitter @BrandonBoat 

Applications will soon be opening for spots on YNPN-TC’s Board of Directors. This is your opportunity to take a leadership role and shape the future of the organization. To help you start thinking about if a Board position is right for you, Brandon Boat put together some advice from himself and others about what it takes to join a nonprofit board. 

Board service is a great opportunity to advance your career to the next level. Whether you’re trying to network, gain more experience, or an alien trying to learn “human feelings,” joining a board of directors will provide you with new connections, a sense of fulfillment, and ownership over a mission in a way that’s very different from being an employee or volunteer.

So how can you get a spot on a board?

There are several different types of boards, and all of this advice may not be applicable in each situation. For instance, some boards are chosen by a committee and the process may be similar to a job interview. Other boards may propose candidates and have their membership vote on them. Other boards are chosen because your sister went to a better school than you and dad thinks that she deserves...ahem, excuse me. Nepotism is a different beast altogether, so we’ll leave that for a different blog post. 

For starters, you should try to get on a board that you have a preexisting relationship with. My own relationship with YNPN-TC began several years ago when I first went to one of their events. It was a great chance to meet other people in the organization and to find out more about their programming and mission. You should only join the board of an organization that you love. If you hate an organization, the other board members will resent you for trying to bring it down from the inside.

It’s also helpful to volunteer with an organization. You’ll get a chance to work with staff, and it will help inform you about how the organization operates. In my own case, my company, The Theater of Public Policy, partnered with YNPN-TC on several events over the past several years. This allowed me to learn more about their structure and operations from a hands-on perspective. 

Once you’ve landed an interview, you need to do your research. Scour websites, attend events, and conduct interviews with past board members. In my case, I happened to share the same hometown with a past YNPN-TC board president. I called him up, and we chatted about the future of the organization and what they were looking for in new board members. While you may not have that existing relationship, it’s to your benefit to meet for coffee or chat with a board member at an event. They can give you great advice and also let you know more about what the board service is like. 

Because this is the first board I’ve had the pleasure of serving on, I don’t have all the answers. So to write this blog, I asked several others to give their advice and put together a list that you can find below. Some of the information is similar to my own advice (HINT: That means it’s important) and I think the rest is valuable too. After all, it would be weird to offer terrible advice in an article like this. One last thing, always dress as a circus clown at your interviews.

Advice Section 

Carl Swanson, Board Member, YNPN-TC
Get to know who is on the board already. You are about to enter into a working relationship that oversees the success of an organization, so knowing who is there now goes a long way to having a solid working relationship going forward. It's also a good thing—especially if you are joining a board like YNPN-TC's—to ask the double-sided question of 'What am I good at?' and 'What do I want to work on?' Answering the first tells you what you bring to the table, answering the second gives you the ability to seek it out in fellow board members. 

Jaimie Millard, Board Chair, YNPN-TC
The most common advice is to pick an organization with a cause/mission you are passionate about. If you struggle with picking a cause/mission, find a board or organization with the TYPE of people you'd like to know better and build relationships with. Boards are made of people, so finding a board with people you'd want to get to know better is perfectly natural! 

Getting to know my fellow YNPN-TC boardies has been one of my favorite parts of this experience. They are all like-minded, but from diverse backgrounds and subsectors—I've learned so much from the other board people, honestly more so than the mission.

Cary Walski, Board Member, YNPN-TC
Not sure where to start? MAP for Nonprofits has a "matchmaking" programthat's free for individuals who'd like to connect with nonprofits looking for board members. Sign up, and you'll be interviewed about your skills and interests, and MAP will your info on if a nonprofit is looking for a board member like you. You'll also be subscribed to receive monthly updates about board openings that might interest you at Twin Cities nonprofits. 

Kenza Hadj-Moussa, Board Member, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and Our Saviour’s Community Services
Joining a board is a big commitment. Start aligning yourself with an issue or organization you care about. You can learn about the process of joining a board by contacting a board member or the executive director. Also, let your network know you're interested in joining a board to connect you to opportunities. There are also board listings on the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits job board. 

Rinal Ray, Board Member, College Possible Twin Cities and Avalon School
Show up. Go to the organization's events, fundraisers, and volunteer opportunities. Raise your hand to do work that maybe others don't want to do, maybe via a board committee. If you want to be on the boardm say it out loud, preferably to someone who might help make it happen (current board members and EDs in particular). Actually apply for the board and make sure your application is thoughtful. I'd also advise making sure you know what you're getting into—the commitment, expectations (work, time, money) and make sure it's a fit for how you want to grow and contribute. 

Diane Tran, Board Chair, Citizens League Board of Directors
Volunteering or serving on a committee is one important way to get a better sense for the work of the organization and gauge whether you'd be interested in deepening your level of commitment to advancing their mission. At the Citizens League, engaged volunteers who have cultivated their membership and involvement over time are one of the primary pools we draw from when seeking potential board members.

[Blog Buddies] One Moment Center + Kathleen Sprole

Minnesota Rising is pleased to feature posts and profiles of entrepreneurial emerging leaders on occasion. This guest post comes from Kathleen Sprole, 2014 President of the Minneapolis Jaycees and Founder of One Moment Center LLC. Read on to hear her insights and offerings related to the powerful benefits of mindfulness and intentional living!

Kathleen Sprole has been working in the mental health field since 2002. Kathleen currently works as a therapist in the Twin Cities area. In January 2014, Kathleen founded One Moment Center LLC, to pursue her passion and desire to share the powerful benefits of Mindfulness for individuals, as well as how living life on purpose positively changes the world. Kathleen has a playful approach to teaching and living a mindful lifestyle, as well as helping others get to the heart of their authentic selves and living the lives they've desired. The vision of OMC is to provide for individuals opportunities for self-growth and discovery, balanced living, and well-being through a mindfulness based approach.  

Most of us are hooked into the hustle and bustle, high stress, high performance culture. When we let it go on mindlessly we lose our self-awareness and compassion, become stressed and angry, and are at higher risk for mental health concerns. OMC invites you to slow down, turn your focus inward, and realize your authentic abilities for resilience, compassion, happiness and your potential for living a fulfilling and meaningful life. The time has come to be your happiest self!

Mindfulness practices can help us live more fully because it truly changes and "rewires" the brain. We can handle the stresses that come our way with more ease. We can have more focus and be more effective at work. Our relationships can be more satisfying and meaningful. We make choices that are in line with our true self and passions, which leads to living life with purpose. Mindfulness becomes a lifestyle.

OMC offers workshops and ongoing practice sessions aimed to help increase self-awareness, manage stress, increase compassion for self and others, bust through the fear based thoughts that trip us up, and tap into our true passions and desires so we can live our lives on purpose. In addition, OMC will be hosting a retreat, Women's Mindfulness Day (A Retreat for Loving Yourself and Finding Happiness) on October 18^th.

For more information on One Moment Center LLC and events, please visit the website at onemomentcenter.com, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/onemomentcenter/ or emailing omc.mpls@gmail.com . If you are interested in the Women's Mindfulness Day, you can register at tinyurl.com/omcregistration.

[Blog Buddies] "Forever young" by Adam Yust

To celebrate his birthday the other week I gave my coworker, Adam, the gift of my spot on the YNPN Twin Cities blog calendar. In keeping with the age theme, he promptly penned the following post, "Forever young." Enjoy the wisdom below from a young whippersnapper who cares!

Forever young

Monday, July 7, 2014 at 7:00AM

By Adam YustFollow me on Twitter: @mplstp

Have you ever felt like the youngest person in the room? Growing up in a civically-engaged family, I constantly found myself the youngest person at neighborhood meetings. 

In 2000, at age 13, I went on the record at a Saint Paul community meeting to oppose a project that would have destroyed aspects of my neighborhood. A bus-way from downtown Saint Paul to Mall of America was proposed to travel down the center of West 7^th Street. This transit project would have cut service levels, divided the neighborhood in half, and taken away boulevard trees. Because of my young age, people at the meeting asked me, "Why are you here?" I answered, "I'm here because I care."

Fast forward to 2014.

I currently sit on the board of my Saint Paul neighborhood district council. This board doubles as a nonprofit and a community development corporation. Saint Paul is lucky to have a local form of governance like the Neighborhood District Council System. It is relatively easy to become civically engaged in your community by participating in your neighborhood district council.     

At 27, I am the youngest person on my neighborhood council. While others are happy that I’m involved on the council, I can feel like the token millennial. Sometimes I still get looks from visitors that ask, “What are you doing here?” 

Like other forms of government, my neighborhood council doesn't reflect the actual demographics of the community. In 2011, 18-34-year-olds made up 30% of my neighborhood population, but currently only 8% of the neighborhood district council. This divergence becomes apparent when our neighborhood council votes on issues with a generational divide like transportation.  

According to a 2013 report from USPIRG, "The Millennial generation is leading the change in transportation trends. 16 to 34-year-olds drove a whopping 23 percent fewer miles on average in 2009 than in 2001."

As a millennial, I totally fit into the narrative of the MPRIG report, as I haven't always driven a car. With my millennial perspective, I often find myself alone in advancing younger viewpoints on transportation issues. Unlike council members from other generations, I simply don't believe that the neighborhood council should spend time, resources, and money to make our neighborhood more car-friendly. 

Given that I am the youngest person on the board, issues like transportation become a hard fight since I am the only vote representing the generation with the greatest decline in miles driven. Without more young people civically engaged or participating in neighborhood district councils, we will lack a voice on policies that could have a great impact on younger generations. Decisions are being made about our future whether millennials are at the table or not, and I do not want to continue to feel forever young at every neighborhood meeting I attend. 

My hope is that more young people will take advantage of getting involved in our district council system so that approved policies better represent the positions of millennials. Get involved in your neighborhood council in Saint Paul neighborhoods or Minneapolis neighborhoods.

photo used with permission of author.

[Blog Buddies] "Becoming Leaderly" by Elizabeth Fei

I'm thrilled to be a part of the team helping to steward the development of the innovative and co-created EPIP-MN and YNPN Twin Cities Leadership Institute! Our kick-off retreat took place in mid-April and was filled with great people, ideas, and energy. See below for a blog post recap from Leadership Institute participant, Elizabeth Fei!

Becoming Leaderly

Thursday, May 1, 2014 at 7:59AM

Elizabeth Fei is a participant in the new Leadership Institute put on by YNPN-TC and EPIP-MN, which launched in April 2014.

On night one of the inaugural EPIP-YNPN Leadership Institute kick-off retreat, we experienced a World Café discussion, where I offered to play table host (mostly so that I wouldn’t have to switch tables). After hearing the amazing thoughts of my fellow cohort members, I was so humbled and weighed-down with the immense responsibility of capturing, then harvesting their oh-so-insightful nuggets. When it came time to share, I turned to my tablemates, silently asking their permission.

I was met with nods back:

“Go ahead.”

Even now, I feel this immense responsibility to “say it right” and fully capture the gratifying two-day experience. As I’ve learned through my work at the Minnesota Humanities Center: words matter. However, I’m going to imagine all of my new friends nodding at me and try to do justice to all of our experiences.

Also, for the record, I know leaderly isn’t a word. Sue me.

I’ll admit, on my way from work to the first evening of the Leadership Institute retreat, I was nervous. I’ve never been one for traditional networking events. Smiling at each other in stuffy suits, handing out business cards, regurgitating your perfectly-crafted (yet somehow never professional-sounding enough) elevator speech over and over has never really fit my introverted style. And, while in my experience nonprofit-y, philanthropy-y, civic-minded, socially responsible folks really do tend to have their passions for what they do shine through any situation, I still feel myself often falling into the trap of the smile-shake-hands-nod-a-lot-and-move-on waltz.

Instead of this typical dog and pony show, we were asked to bring in something that represented our leadership journey. We circled up and shared our stories. Desralynn shared her red lipstick—a reminder to herself to always be bold. Andy shared a socket wrench, through which he shared the metaphor that for him, leadership means always having the “right tool” the job. In an unforgettable moment, Eleonore “bared it all” and shared her tattoo of a bicycle, commemorating the first day she learned to ride a bike (just 3 years ago!), and her subsequent drive to keep pushing forward.

When it came turn to share my item, I shared my green, blue, and purple hair—a symbol for my desire to bring my authentic self to my leadership journey. Hearing people’s stories was inspiring, humbling, and eye-opening; truly a testament to the fact that there is no one way of approaching leadership.

The second day was spent with higher level visioning both of the program itself and, in my view, some great forward thinking about the future of the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. We spent some time in small groups, first envisioning the future of our sectors (but backwards!) and then with our mentoring circles who will be our go-to groups for more intimate connections and support.

We spent our afternoon in open space discussions tackling some of our big questions and concepts including: Power Dynamics, Who Am I as a Leader?, Bringing Your Self to Work, Building Culturally-Competent Teams, and How to Turn Ideas Into Action. The thought that these big ideas were the things we’d be wrestling with during our 10 months together was both daunting and exhilarating.

As we wrapped up the day, I was spent. As an introvert, two days of deep thinking, broad visioning and relationship had me feeling like I needed some kitty snuggles and a long nap. We ended the experience as we began: in a circle.

I think that working in the sector that I work in, with competing priorities and aims and goals coupled with an innate drive to do good in my little corner of the universe, it’s easy to get caught up in the impossibility of it all. There are always emails to be answered. There is always one more meeting to plan. There are people out there whose voices aren’t heard. There are systems in place that seem impossible to repair or rebuild.

Sometimes even the trip to the microwave to heat up my questionable Lean Cuisine seems like too much.

Looking around the circle, I became overcome with this sense of pride and excitement. More than that though, in that moment, it felt accomplishable: this group of young, motivated, smart, savvy, and impassioned individuals can actually do this. We are leaders that will repair those entrenched systems and amplify the good work in communities. And, maybe that email inbox will get below 1,000.

“Go ahead.”

All right guys, I will.