April ‘21: General Update
Originally Posted April 7, 2021
Apologies for the delay for my end-of-month update. Over the last two and a half weeks, I spent my time meeting with staff, artists in residence, and work-study participants. To listen to their experiences and concerns, answer questions, and understand what additional answers are needed. Opening up communication between team members, between board members, and cross-organizationally is a priority. My goal is to rebuild trust and transparency within the organization so we can work as a team to rebuild trust with the community.
I’ve also been doing a deep dive into the organization’s structure and management to get a complete picture of its current state. This work ensures that we are in compliance and that all current and future board members, and the future executive director, have up-to-date and accurate information to work from as we move forward
The team (staff) has been working together on the vendor audit. We have documented all of the companies we contract with for services, places we purchase supplies from, and instructors we’ve hired since the beginning of 2020. Our findings so far indicate that ~8% of the vendors and instructors that we partner with are BIPOC owned. We can do better than that.
Inspired by 15 Percent Pledge and the Anti-Racist Small Business Pledge, we commit to increasing representation and diversifying our spending power. We’ve started to draft a supplier diversity policy that we will use to direct our purchasing power moving forward.
The board is looking to add the following criteria in the following areas to its annual 360 Review of the Executive Director:
Intentional efforts to be inclusive on a day to day basis
Open to different people, ideas, and change
Creates an environment of psychological safety where members feel safe to speak up without fear of negative consequences
Facilitates constructive exchange of different ideas and perspectives
Challenges the status quo, influences the adaptation of systems and structures that reinforce the centrality of diversity and inclusion to the organization’s purpose and business strategy
Additionally, the board has revised the call for new board members in an attempt to shift focus from skills to desired engagement and opportunities for board and individual growth.
We have also engaged with Carmen D’Arcangelo from Valtas Group to help us during our Executive Director transition. I will be staying on as Interim Executive Director with Carmen’s experienced guidance in completing an organizational operational assessment, support of board governance, structure, goals, and objectives, and organizational opportunities.
Other Important Studio News
Development & Communications Manager Jaime White leaves us this week for a new position as Africatown Community Land Trust grants officer. I’ve learned a lot from Jaime in the short time we’ve had to work together and want to thank her for her candor and honesty. We all sincerely appreciate her considerable contributions to Pottery Northwest and wish her the best in her new role.
Joey Nuñez has agreed to an expanded, full-time role as Studio Manager. The role entails managing most of the day-to-day tasks involved keeping the studio program running smoothly and ensuring the best possible experience for our community. Having Joey with us on a full-time basis will allow us to improve our processes and programming outcomes. Every single person I’ve spoken with has only had glowing reviews of Joey, his passion and enthusiasm, and his commitment to the studio. I’m super excited to be able to share this news.
Last but not least, new Artist in Residence Yoonjee Kwak arrives this month! We’re looking forward to welcoming her to Seattle and having her join our community.
Jennifer ‘Fuj’ Fujimoto, she/her
Interim Executive Director
Pottery Northwest
fuj@potterynorthwest.org