Response to Call to Action
Originally Posted March 16, 2021
To the clay community,
The Board and I take the Call to Action of March 1, 2021 seriously and are grateful for the work that has been done to open our eyes and hearts to our failures as an organization and to help us find a path forward for positive change.
As many of you already know, James Lobb has decided to step down from his role as executive director (ED) effective as of March 1, 2021. I have accepted the interim executive director (interim ED) position to lead the organization during this transition. I am committed to fulfilling my role until a new ED with a deep personal commitment to advancing racial equity, inclusion, and opportunity in the ceramic arts is found to lead the organization forward.
The board may choose to hire an experienced interim ED in the coming weeks or months to ensure a stronger, clearer, independent analysis, and a smooth transition period. If the board identifies and hires someone for this position, I have agreed to step down as interim ED and return to the board to ensure that the commitments below are met.
When a permanent ED is found, I will work to fully transition any ongoing commitments. As this is an immediate action plan, the permanent ED will be charged with seeing it through while enhancing our organization’s mission and standards of operations with an eye on evolving us for the better.
While in the role of interim ED I commit to carry out the following:
Make clear and accessible Pottery Northwest’s Policies Against Harassment and Discrimination; evaluate policies for completeness and consistency; and put impartial and confidential reporting and investigation processes in place.
Pottery Northwest’s current Policy Against Unlawful Harassment and Discrimination is available to view here. The policy applies to all employees, including supervisors, and includes our Policy Against Retaliation. We will begin reviewing this policy, and others, immediately to make sure we are identifying and addressing systemic racism and inequality within our workplace and making consequences for violation of these policies specific and clear.
We encourage anyone to report any issues they experience, witness or know about in any capacity. People may also feel free to ask questions, and communicate concerns or worries, however small, about anything. Nothing is too minor or inconsequential to bring to us, or to ask us about. If you feel or sense something is off, we invite you to reach out. We have an anonymous reporting form located at https://potterynorthwest.org/comments/.
I welcome the community’s suggestions and feedback on the effectiveness of these policies and processes toward more equitable, safe, and inclusive practices and environments, and as we work to ensure the safety and well-being of anyone reporting these incidents. These policies will be updated and added to annually as we continue to learn and grow as an organization.
Research and implement mandatory annual training for all Pottery Northwest board members and staff.
This will include training in anti-racism, anti-classism, nonviolent communication, institutional reform, anti-bias training and ADA compliance as required by the Americans With Disabilities Act.
I will ensure this training is in place no later than the second quarter (April-June) of this year, 2021. This training is in addition to continued attendance of DEI workshops and cohort meetings provided by Seattle Arts & Culture for Anti-Racism.
Immediately perform a diversity review of all current vendors, suppliers, contractors, and other providers.
Where there is opportunity and availability for us to diversify, we will take the steps necessary to do so. Where there is a critical need for continuity, we will continue to engage with the relationships we have in place until such time as it is reasonable and prudent to change. For any new work, we will actively seek out diverse suppliers, vendors, contractors, and other providers.
Community suggestions and recommendations are welcomed and appreciated. To inform and support that effort I will be drafting a supplier diversity policy and statement, which will be in place by mid-April 2021.
Work with the board of directors to develop a compensation philosophy with an emphasis on fairness and equity.
Compensation will be based on factors directly related to a job, and not a person’s race, ethnicity, gender-identity, or sexual orientation. Non-male, LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC employees will be paid no less than their counterparts doing the same job with the same experience and performance.
I will work with the board of directors to evaluate Pottery Northwest’s compensation system for potential discriminatory pay disparities. We will look at all forms of compensation — salary, benefits, overtime, tuition reimbursement, severance pay and opportunities for advancement — and adjust as needed.
We will research and review:
What organizations, with a capacity like ours, are offering in total compensation (salary and benefits) for comparable positions
What a fair, living wage is given the high cost of living in Seattle
We’ll then use this work as a tool for determining fair compensation for work done by our staff, teachers, residents, and other collaborators.
My goal is to have this review completed no later than the end of April 2021 and put into practice immediately thereafter. This evaluation will be done annually.
Work with staff to make Pottery Northwest’s programming and processes clearer, more accessible, equitable, and sustainable.
We have received many ideas and suggestions from the community’s comments and emails already. Thank you for your unpaid labor.
As a first step, we have made our work study information more accessible by posting a complete description of the program and an inquiry form on our website at potterynorthwest.org/workstudy.
We will form an advisory group to guide and inform decisions around our work-study program, residency program and selection process, and event programming including gallery shows, talks, and other artist opportunities. This group will play a key role in helping Pottery Northwest enrich all of our educational and artistic offerings, improve our processes, increase our visibility in the community, and refine our programs.
As part of the work to make our programming more equitable, we commit to compensating all jurors, curators, lecturers and panelists with stipends, to be determined by the advisory group.
I will hire a consultant from the BIPOC arts community immediately to guide this effort. We will develop guidelines to define this position's scope clearly, and we will not ask the consultant to do more work than they have agreed to. If you believe that you, or someone you know, would be a good fit to define and guide this work, please reach out to me at fuj@potterynorthwest.org.
I am putting new resident applications temporarily on hold.
We need the time to re-evaluate our residency application criteria, selection process, and program requirements and make our communication around those items clearer before inviting new residents into our community. All current applicants have been informed of this decision and we will continue to communicate with them about our progress and options available to them should they choose to remain in consideration.
We will review and refine our vision, mission, and core values, holistically, as an organization.
We are a predominantly white institution at the beginning of our journey to becoming a fully inclusive arts organization. Our limited perspective has had a significant impact on our choices and actions up to now.
We will refine our vision, mission and values through a racial equity framework which will drive us to shape our future decisions and actions so that they are more inclusive and socially just. (Initial pass by the end of April 2021; will continue to be informed by learnings and later DEI Investigation)
Recent updates surrounding the efforts of the Board:
Board Chair Transition Our Board President, Tara Wefers, has decided to step down from the Board of Directors. This is effective as of March 12, 2021. She will continue to support the organization as a volunteer. The Board voted and approved Cappy Thompson as the next Board President and this is effective immediately.
ED Review The Board implemented a 360 ED review in 2020. Additional questions and criteria will be added specific to creating a culture of inclusivity, fostering safe space, and forwarding DEI goals. (By the end of April 2021)
Board Development The board is actively looking for BIPOC leaders who will bring new perspectives and experiences and diversify our thinking and decision-making. If you are interested in informing the work and joining our efforts, you can find more information about board needs and responsibilities here: https://potterynorthwest.org/call-for-new-board-members.
Additionally, the board is seeking ways to make board service more accessible and equitable and is researching alternative governance models.
Internal Board Review The Board is designing a review process to evaluate the effectiveness of board members, clarify roles, increase communication, and add accountability measures. This will help us guide the organization by increasing transparency within the board. (By the end of June 2021)
DEI Consultant & Investigation The Board is in the process of interviewing DEI consultants. We are looking to carry out a DEI investigation that will take a deep look at Board, as well as PNW programming, to help us create an action plan for improvement. This work may not take place until the fall based on consultant availability. We will start sooner if one becomes available.
Friction-less path to add your voice The Board is committed to regularly checking the board@potterynorthwest.org email where, in addition to the anonymous form above, people may voice concerns, encouragement, or suggestions to foster growth within the organization. We are working to identify other accessible ways of adding your input.
I will share an update on the progress of this work at the end of this month (March 2021), and commit to monthly communication moving forward. When I step out of my position as interim ED and return to board service, I will continue to hold myself and the organization accountable for timely communication and updates.
In the interest of communication and transparency, I want to share that we have started the search for a new home for Pottery Northwest. Pottery Northwest has enjoyed over 50 years at Seattle Center, but the city is changing and so must we. Our current lease expires in the summer of 2023 and we have financial incentive to accelerate a move if we find a suitable space sooner. More communication regarding our plans for the move will be forthcoming.
For those of you who have had nurturing and supportive experiences at Pottery Northwest, I hope we can count on your continued support and help in creating a culture of inclusivity so that people of any race, ethnicity, class, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, accessibility needs, or country of origin feel welcomed and seen.
Pottery Northwest is committed to cultural equity and inclusion and increasing the diversity of our board, staff, teaching artists, residency program, and student body. As we work towards this commitment we will make more missteps and mistakes. We will learn from them and continue to grow together.
Thank you for caring enough about the organization to hold us accountable.
Jennifer ‘Fuj’ Fujimoto, she/her
Interim Executive Director
Pottery Northwest
fuj@potterynorthwest.org