SageD Reflections: A Recap of First Quarter 2023
In creating and announcing the launch of SageD Consulting, I was prepared to roll up my sleeves and make magic, and the first quarter of 2023 has been an exciting testament to that intention. Between SageD Spaces events, workshop facilitations from south Georgia to sunny San Diego, a rebrand on our flagship program (goodbye, Summer of Self Care + hello, Legacy Leadership!), our team and I have been hard at work sageing the new year.
With our mission being laser-focused on supporting impact-driven leadership, while also pursuing community-building and equitable innovation, we have been very strategic and deliberate about effecting positive change. Catch up on all of the magic that we co-designed in the year’s first quarter through this recap!
Legacy Leadership 2023
Because I chose to step away from Center for Civic Innovation (CCI) as the anchor of my work, I chose to rename the “Summer of Self Care” program to Legacy Leadership, which more closely aligns with my vision and intentions for this incredible opportunity to support and cultivate leadership development for impact-driven women.
And with that change, I am elated to announce that this year’s Legacy Leadership cohort is sponsored by United Way of Greater Atlanta, Kaiser Permanente Georgia, and Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium! We are so grateful for the support.
Additionally, we are in partnership with The Lola, a Women's Coworking Space and Community in Atlanta, designed to engage a powerful network of women who intentionally come together to work, connect and collaborate because they want to build the life and career they need to grow, thrive and succeed.
We do not take it for granted that we are the only program dedicated to culturally relevant, place-based leadership cultivation for BIPOC women in the social impact sector. This allows our participants to engage in a curated, supportive community where everyone has both the knowledge and the experience to provide tailored, individualized support to one another.
Until we accept that the entire system must be dismantled, reimagined and re-created with Black folks in positions of power, backed with funding, communities will continue to suffer. Not just the Black people in the community. Everyone. To deny Black women the resources they need to build capacity in their organizations and care for themselves as leaders is to deny us all of their brilliance, ingenuity and creativity.
We need to do better.
Atlanta, Respect the Leadership of Black Women, by Sagdrina Jalal
And doing better we are. This year's new and improved program structure will leave a lasting impact not only on the individuals that we are supporting for advancement, but also for the wider communities that they serve.
With our new cohort officially kicking off their program on May 5th, stay tuned for more exciting Legacy Leadership announcements!
SageD Spaces: Recap from Q1
Cooking & Conjuring Kwanzaa
We kicked off the new year with a focus on holistic wellness. I hosted this event at CreateATL, in partnership with fellow Soul Fire Farm’s Immersion graduate, Chef Nadine Nelson of Global Local Gourmet. Chef Nadine prepared a traditional first-day-of-the-year meal with a twist, while I led participants through a celebration of Kwanzaa principles. Mixologist Keyatta Mincey-Parker prepared her family’s rum punch recipe, and psychologist and spiritual teacher Tamara Stocks guided attendees in a grounding wellness exercise.
This new year celebration elegantly combined several of SageD Consulting’s central programming and values: wellness, food justice, cultural preservation, and community building — and felt like the perfect way to start the new year.
Grow the Love
During February, in partnership with the City of Atlanta, we celebrated Atlanta’s Black farmers at Grow the Love 2023! Attendees saw cooking demonstrations from MenYu and tasted dishes made with locally-sourced mushrooms from Bread and Butter Farms. Keyatta Mincey-Parker shared her gifts with us once again in mixing up delicious hand-crafted cocktails with Farmer’s Jam cocktail syrup and Pride Road hibiscus tea. And of course, we can’t leave out the music! DJ Tenisio (@mr._do_it_all) was in the house, as was one of our favorite farmers, songbird Aja Embry.
We also enjoyed an incredible panel conversation featuring some of Atlanta’s most innovative advocates, including Cicely Garrett (@blackfoodjustice), J. Olu Baiyewu (@aglantagrown), Nedra Deadwyler (@nedraknows), Wayne Swanson (@swansonfamilyfarm), Rukia Rogers (@thehighlanderschoolatl), and Wande Okunoren-Meadows (@handheartsoulproject).
SageDEIB: Recap from Q1
Outside of Legacy Leadership and SageD Spaces, I am staying close to my passion for advocacy and ensuring anti-racism is embedded in local food systems through SageDEIB.
Intents Farmers Market Conference Facilitation
Alongside my dear friend, Juju Harris; Nana Juju Rocks Food, we took the stage in San Diego, California, in a presentation titled: Beyond Good Intentions: Energize Your DEI Plan. We helped 500+ attendees determine why their DEI efforts seem stuck and how to move forward. Our talk, held as part of the Anti-Racist Farmer’s Market Toolkit Community of Practice, ended with a food demonstration!
Georgia Organics Conference Facilitation | Perry, GA
Rukia Rogers (The Highlander School) and I facilitated a session at the annual Georgia Organics Conference in Perry, Georgia. The session was titled Active Inclusion: How Telling our Collective Stories Improves Social Awareness, Grows Leaders, and Fosters Belonging in Community. More than 50 participants attended and learned more inclusive ways to tell stories in the food space.
Q1 Awards and Announcements
Gus Schumaker Award
I was surprised and honored that while I was presenting at the InTents conference in San Diego, I was awarded the Gus Schumaker Award by Farmers Market Coalition! “Named in honor of former Farmers Market Coalition board member, Gus Schumacher, the annual Gus Schumacher awards recognize individuals who exemplify Gus’ tireless work to bring fresh, local food to Americans of all income levels and backgrounds. Honorees demonstrate Gus’ people-first approach to building coalitions to support farmers market success.”
Lady Locavore Award: Advocate
I am honored to share that I was this year’s recipient of the Lady Locavore Advocate Award from Community Farmers Markets. Lady Locavores celebrates and elevates the great work that women are doing in the local food movement in Atlanta.
Shortly after, KSBY Reporter Matt Pearl came to Meena’s Manor (my home!) to interview me for the feature, Women are celebrating women who serve a common goal.
HEAL School of Political Leadership
I am proud to announce that, I have been accepted into the HEAL School of Political Leadership’s 2023 cohort, alongside SageD Collective member alongside Wande Okunoren-Meadows!
HEAL's School of Political Leadership (SoPL) is a six-month political leadership program that supports teams of talented, passionate, food and farm justice leaders who are advocating for policies and solutions that reimagine our food and farm systems. SoPL leaders are creating a blueprint for an inclusive, democratic food and farm system that is accountable to all of our communities.
Looking back through all of this amazing progress, I am convinced more now than ever before that this work is what it is because of the incredible women and supporters, like you, who surround and uplift me, amplifying the mission and multiplying the magic.
Thank you. More to come 🖤
